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I am just beginning to learn about how to garden here and I have started small. I have already made some minor mistakes, but this is how one learns. Choose a spot that is a little too shady and also it looks like roots from either a nearby oak or somewhat distant mulberry have gotten into one of my beds. Since the roots are yellow I suspect the mulberry and their roots tend to be shallow, wandering great distances looking for nutrients. That bed actually does not have my garden but some seedling loquats that I plan to plant as soon as some more land is fully cleared. The other 4×8 bed, I have diverse things in it. So far the Japanese mustard and I think it is collard greens are doing the best. Part of this initial try is trial to find how to grow things. I have a lot of fruit trees planted already and some berries, but now it is learning how to garden. I would like to have especially greens available anytime that I need them. Biggest hurdle is getting large amounts of compost. Cotton waste is available in the northern part of the county. If I use it, I would only use it once since cotton waste likely contains residues for pesticides, maybe even some arsenic. Once time I think is ok, but keep using it and there could be build up of unwanted substances in your soils.
I want to try the three sisters this spring. So many plans and actually doing is the hard part.

I have found that my greens grow slowly in the cold, but seem to really take off in January. I blanch and freeze extras for later in the year. I have done kale, collards, and mustard this way, with the collards tasting the best to me. As far as fresh summer greens go, have you tried sauteed sweet potato leaves? They are tasty. I wish I had an endless supply of compost; wouldn’t that be great?